Tag Archives: Race

Boston civil servants have long used veteran’s preference to get returning vets into jobs such as the police and fire departments. This year, BFD has asked to set aside 15 of 50 spots in their academy class for people who speak Spanish.

But a group of military veterans, normally given preference for the jobs, has challenged the decision. Alleging in legal documents that the bilingual requirement is being used to “recruit people of color into the uniformed ranks,’’ the veterans have asked the state Civil Service Commission to investigate.

(emphasis is my own)

So when did knowledge of a language determine your skin color? I’m sure this wasn’t the only line of reasoning the veterans put in their legal documents, but this quote makes them seem very racist. Later on in the article, the lawyer for them complains about how they came back from serving in Iraq/Afghanistan to find the rules have changed on them.

And there’s even more background, like how the BFD was legally bound to hire/diversify at a one to one ratio meaning for every white candidate they hired, they needed a black or Hispanic one as well. That rule was disbanded less than ten years ago and since then the department has hired a group that is 88 per cent white.

I don’t really understand why the veterans are so angry. The department finally realized they need more staff who speaks Spanish when they respond to calls from Spanish speaking people. Boston has a huge Hispanic population in one neighborhood, and significant populations in other neighborhoods that are on the other side of the city. In other words the Hispanics are basically all over. It’s time the department should diversify again.

First, I found a rather grim forecast of what’s to come for America. It isn’t pretty at all. While reading it, I found I didn’t agree entirely with what the author was saying, but I could see kernels of truth. He (I’m assuming the author “lancefreeman76” is a he) is extremely pessimistic and doesn’t think there’s hope for change. I, on the other hand. do think there’s hope, especially since we did elect Obama. (The author doesn’t mention our President or Health Care Reform at all, which is something to consider)

The second is a blog post by Tim Wise about how race affects the way we view the Tea Party. Playing a game called Imagine, Wise paints a scary picture: If the Tea Party were black, they would be seen as violent radicals if not terrorists.

Protest is only seen as fundamentally American when those who have long had the luxury of seeing themselves as prototypically American engage in it.